Posted on 08/13/2006 10:31:14 PM PDT by seacapn
The original film footage of astronaut Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon, one of the most important artifacts of the 20th century, has been lost.
The television broadcast seen by about 600 million people in July 1969 is preserved for posterity, but the original tapes from which the footage was taken have been mislaid, most likely in NASA's vast archives at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
The footage could transform our view of the moon landings, offering images far sharper than the blurred, grainy video shown around the world. It also could lay to rest the conspiracy theory that the landings were faked on a Hollywood soundstage.
Despite its iconic status, the television footage was the equivalent of a photocopy of a photocopy. It came from a camera that had been pointed at a black-and-white monitor on Earth. The image on the monitor, in turn, had been stripped of much of its detail.
To make sure the transmission would make it back to Earth, the images sent from Apollo 11 were recorded at 10 frames per second, and had to be converted to 60 frames per second in order to be broadcast. In the process, much of the detail was lost.
Stan Lebar, now 81, was in charge of the images from Apollo 11. What he saw was so blurred that he initially thought something had gone wrong.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Goddard is also home to the only equipment that can still play the tapes, which use an obsolete 14-inch format -- equipment that was due to be dismantled in October until Mr. Nafzger intervened.
This is an issue that is getting bigger as technology changes, and formats shift. Not just for big organizations, either.
Paging Sandy Burglar...
OH, and...
BUSH'S FAULT!!
Interesting.
It never could. Nothing can squelch a conspiracy theory. They will always hold onto their paranoid delusions no matter what.
Check the Clinton Library and Massage Parlor (or Hillary's coat pockets).
All they need to do is go back to the Hollywood soundstage where they filmed the "moon landing" and check in the basement. It's gotta be down there somewhere.
Its another coverup by Bush. Now where is my tinfoil hat.
Well, there's not much we can do except go back to the moon and do it all over again. Hopefully everybody remembers their lines this next time around.
It's not lost. The government is hiding it becuase the tape shows illegal aliens in the background. And they're doing jobs that no American will do.
Yea well, who was going to pull out the Super 8 projector and look at 'em again anyhow. The movies of my first step have been in the closet unlooked at for years. Who would know the difference if they turned out not to be there.
Besides, have you see how much the bulbs are for those Super 8 projectors?
NASA apparently loses a lot of artifacts. Didn't they recently discover a prototype spacesuit?
Mislaid, my hindquarters. Someone made a ton of money off of selling that on the black market.
. . .but NOTHING will lay to rest the conspiracy theories; save the improbable event of 'brain transplants' of all moon conspiracists. . .
For all of us who believe the moon landing to be fiction this just lends more credence to the conspiracy theory. This and the first ever interview with Neil Armstrong on 60 minutes a couple weeks ago. No wonder he doesn't get interviewed about the moon landing. He had absolutely nothing of substance to relate. You would think that someone who had walked on the moon would be dying to give interviews. Not so with all those who say they walked on the moon.
?
Well, at least they obviously plan to reshoot a newer version with better special effects, once they pretend to have found the tapes again, of course.
Great post. That never crossed my mind but certainly has a lot of substance to it.
If we could find it, I bet there are some very talented freepers that could probably tell us if it's real or not:')
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